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Mental health task force makes final recommendations

The task force charged with finding solutions to the growing mental health crisis in South Dakota's criminal justice system and its interaction with the justice system has submitted 15 policy recommendation for the governor and legislator to consider

The task force charged with finding solutions to the growing mental health crisis in South Dakota's criminal justice system has submitted its recommendations to the governor and legislators.

They include piloting a mental health court in Pennington County, improving the timeliness of mental health screening for criminal defendants and expanding crisis intervention team training.

“Prior to this, we had not had a comprehensive review of the evaluation and treatment of individuals in the criminal justice system who struggle with mental illness,” Gov. Dennis Daugaard said in a statement. “I will take this report seriously and carefully review each of the recommendations.”

The task force was created after an Argus Leader investigation found South Dakota routinely jails mentally ill defendants for half a year or more without trial because of a backlog of court-ordered mental health exams in the state.

The state's court system saw 147 requests for mental competency exams in fiscal year 2015. The state's mental hospital will only conduct 36 per year.

The 22-member task force — which included mental health professional, prosecutors and sheriffs from the state’s two largest counties — spent months vetting ideas and policies that could address the delays in mental health screenings.

“South Dakota can do better,” said Chief Justice David Gilbertson. “The recommendations of the task force represent common sense approaches to move us in the right direction.”

Phyllis Arends, executive director of the Sioux Falls chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said she was anxious to see what legislators think of the proposals because the recommendations sound “lofty.”

“I think we are going to need some money put into this,” Arends said.

Arends said she was excited to read about the prospect of having a statewide Crisis Intervention Training coordinator. The training teaches law enforcement officers how to responsibly handle situations involving people with mental illness.

The mental health advocate said she would have liked to see more recommendations to create services to prevent people from getting arrested to begin with.

Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead, a member of the task force, said he thinks the release of the group’s final recommendations is just the beginning. Improving training for law enforcement and reducing the length of time it takes to get someone a mental health screening will take time, Milstead said.

The task force hasn't solved all the problems, but it was able to develop some ideas on where to start, he said.

“It does remind you of the seriousness of the issues we face and how it won’t be an easy fix,” Milstead.

15. Establish an oversight council to track implementation and outcomes and look for ongoing opportunities to support improved policies and practices for people with mental illness in the criminal justice system